Optimism, Coping, and Posttraumatic Stress Severity in Women in the Childbearing Year

PTSD symptoms in pregnancy may cause adverse effects on both mother and infant child. Identifying and addressing PTSD in pregnancy may help to alleviate the impact of PTSD on pregnancy. Optimism has been examined as a protective factor in the development of PTSD; however no study to date has looked at the relationship between optimism and PTSD in pregnant women. The current study examined the role of optimism on PTSD symptom severity, coping and somatization among women in the childbearing year. We examined data from 1581 completed interviews with nulliparous, pregnant women from the first wave telephone interview conducted as part of a longitudinal outcomes study, "Psychobiology of PTSD & Adverse Outcomes of Childbearing" (NIH NR008767; common name "the STACY project"). Four trauma exposure group cohorts (PTSD-positive, trauma-positive, non-exposed, and partial PTSD) were differentiated and two coping variables (active and avoidant) were examined. The relationships between demographics, trauma exposure groups, optimism and PTSD were examined. In addition, we examined the impact of these factors on coping and somatization. In general, the PTSD-positive group reported significantly less optimism than the trauma-positive and non-exposed groups. SES and number of reported traumas contributed to PTSD severity, as well as optimism. For those women reporting more optimism, they reported more use of active coping, less engagement in avoidant coping, and less somatization.